Source: American Rider –
[[{“value”:”No motorcycle is as recognizable as “Captain America,” the Panhead chopper ridden by Peter Fonda in the 1969 movie Easy Rider. The term “iconic” is overused but certainly applies to this stars-and-stripes icon.
Your chance to own what is purported to be an authentic Captain America will happen Labor Day weekend at the 54th Annual Auburn Auction and Show, where the bike owned by the Lone Star Estate Collection will roll across the auction block with no reserve price set.
Worldwide Auctions Captain America
The Captain America chopper built by Dan Haggerty and Gary Graham in the 1990s is now up for auction.
Before you cash in your 401k to fund your purchase, keep in mind the controversy about the Captain America bikes. Cliff “Soney” Vaughs and Ben Hardy built two examples for the film: the hero bike ridden by Fonda and a stunt bike used for the dramatic crash scene climax.
The Captain America stunt bike goes flying during the final scene in Easy Rider.
After filming, the Captain America hero bike and the two Billy Bikes (ridden by Dennis Hopper) were apparently stolen at gunpoint from stuntman Tex Hall, leaving only the mangled Captain bike as the remaining tie to the film. Reportedly, its frame was broken near the transmission from the crash damage.
Hall gave the remnants of the crashed Captain America stunt bike to actor Dan Haggerty of Grizzly Adams TV fame, who was a friend of Fonda’s and had a big role in Easy Rider. Haggerty said he kept the remnants of the bike in his garage for 20 years.
Panheads remain cool 70 years after their introduction.
Haggerty enlisted collector Gary Graham to restore the famous chopper in the early 1990s, which reemerged on display at the Iowa State Fair and other motorcycle events. Graham put it up for sale at a Dan Kruse auction in 1996, and Haggerty claimed the bike consisted of 90% original parts, and the bike was accompanied by signed affidavits from Haggerty and Graham certifying the bike’s authenticity. Fonda gave his endorsement based on what Haggerty told him, and the bike was sold to Granger for $63,500.
And here’s where the story gets complicated.
Easy Rider: Will the Real Captain America Please Stand Up
A different Captain America chopper surfaced in 2002 when Haggerty sold it to J&P Cycles’ John Parham. Fonda apparently had authenticated the bike based on Haggerty’s new provenance claim, but skeptics wondered if the bike was just another ploy from Haggerty to earn money during a time when he was suffering from substance abuse. Regardless, Parham proudly displayed his Captain America at the National Motorcycle Museum in Anamosa, Iowa, which sadly closed in 2023.
Mecum Will Auction Contents of the National Motorcycle Museum
Parham’s bike was sold to Hollywood memorabilia collector Michael Eisenberg in 2014, and it went up for auction later that year. The bike’s authenticity was brought into question and caused a dispute between Eisenberg and Granger, who both claimed their bikes were the real Captain America.
A stars and stripes icon on wheels.
Fonda got riled up about the deal and retracted his validation of Granger’s bike, saying that Haggerty had duped him and that there was “a big rat stinking someplace in this.” Noted restorer Glenn Bator inspected the bike at the auction and noted frame repairs near the transmission, which added a bit of authenticity to the bike’s new provenance claims.
Following the auction, Haggerty signed a document that confirmed the Parham/Eisenberg bike has the frame of the movie bike. After a lie-detector test, Haggerty admitted that Granger’s bike only contained a few “bits and pieces, nothing more – a chain or a fender, nothing more.”
The Granger Captain America looking sharp, even if it has just a few parts from the movie bike.
Parham’s Captain America garnered $1.35 million at auction, the highest price ever for a motorcycle, but the controversy over the bike had scuttled the sale after the gavel was struck.
The bike was actually sold months after the auction, but no details of the price have been reported. The name of the buyer has been a mystery, but Parham’s National Motorcycle Museum’s website once stated the bike was purchased by Paul Allen, one of Microsoft’s founders.
As for Granger’s Captain America, it suffered damage in a 2010 fire and was restored for a 2021 Cord & Kruse auction, where it sold for $255,000 to the Lone Star Estate Collection. As for how much it’ll sell for this time around, we’ll find out on Aug. 31 in Auburn, Indiana. The auction is open to the public, and the full inventory can be viewed at the Worldwide Auctioneers website.
“Bettie” is one of Rick Fairless’ most inspired builds, also up for bid.
Other vehicles up for bid are two psychedelic custom choppers from legendary builder Rick Fairless of Strokers Dallas fame. Also among 400 vehicles up for bid are the Grateful Dead’s 1949 Studebaker equipment truck affectionately known as “The Dred” and presented in its original psychedelic livery, the Lamborghini Diablo VT Roadster used in the movie The Wolf of Wall Street starring Leonardo DiCaprio, a 1962 Lincoln Continental convertible used in 1962 by President John F. Kennedy in a parade celebrating the “Niagara Frontier,” a 1932 Auburn 12-160A Boattail Speedster, and a sensational 1937 Delage D8-120 Cabriolet.
The post “Captain America” Auction … Again appeared first on American Rider.”}]]
